title: Silicified virus-like nanoparticles in an extreme thermal environment: implications for the preservation of viruses in the geological record.
abstract: Biofilms that grow around Gumingquan hot spring (T = 71 °C, pH = 9.2) in the Rehai geothermal area, Tengchong, China, are formed of various cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Aquificae, Thermodesulfobacteria, Desulfurococcales, and Thermoproteales. Silicified virus-like nanoparticles, 40-200 nm in diameter, are common inside the microbial cells and the extracellular polymeric substances around the cells. These nanoparticles, which are formed of a core encased by a silica cortex, are morphologically akin to known viruses and directly comparable to silicified virus-like particles that were produced in biofilms cultured in the laboratory. The information obtained from examination of the natural and laboratory-produced samples suggests that viruses can be preserved by silicification, especially while they are still encased in their host cells. These results expand our views of virus-host mineral interaction in extreme thermal environments and imply that viruses can be potentially preserved and identified in the geological record.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China; Sanya Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000821:virology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000821:virology; D018441:Biofilms; D002681:China; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D045482:Hot Springs / Q000821:virology*; D053758:Nanoparticles; D011309:Preservation, Biological; D022701:Virosomes
chemical_list: D022701:Virosomes